Cannes Film Festival 2019 Kicks Off With Diverse Jury, Mostly Male-Directed Films

The jury for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival may be one of its most diverse, but only 4 of 21 featured films were directed by women.

The 72nd Cannes Film Festival is set to open Tuesday with the premiere of Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy "The Dead Don't Die" and the introduction of Alejandro Inarritu's jury.

This year's Cannes arrives with the usual swirl of celebrity and controversy. Debuting at the French film festival will be Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and the Elton John biopic "Rocketman."

Last year's Cannes saw 82 women protest for gender inequality on the festival's famed red-carpet steps. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux signed a pledge promising to make the festival's selection process more transparent and to push executive boards toward gender parity.

On Tuesday, Fremaux said Cannes is progressing in step with the industry.

Inarritu will preside over the jury that will decide this year's Palme d'Or.

TICTOC ON SOCIAL:

TicToc by Bloomberg is global news for the life you lead. We are a 24/7 news network that covers breaking news, politics, technology, business and entertainment stories from around the globe, supported by a network of Bloomberg’s 2,700 journalists across 120 countries.

[emmanuelmarin]

You know genetics and gender aren't political parties right? They are natural processes and qualities in a human. Gender roles and types exist for a reason. In birds for example with falcons eagles and hawks the female is often larger than the male. With Lions males seldom hunt. The human race shouldn't have to get perfectly equalized because then what would be the difference or distinction in gender. Gender roles are based on survival which it feels like certain political ideologies take for granted. Also is that how you decide that you like a movie, not the plot the writing the artistic direction or any other elements that go into a film but simply the gender involved in its production?